Meer Hassan Ali, B.: Observations on the Mussulmauns of India: descriptive of their manners, customs, habits, and religious opinions ; made during a twelve years residence in their immediate Society (Band 2) (London, 1832)

THE MELON. 49

The kernel of the mango is of a hot and rather
offensive flavour ; the poor people, however, col-
lect it, and when dried grind it into flour for
bread, which is more wholesome than agree-
able ; in seasons of scarcity, however, it is a
useful addition to the then scanty means of the
lower orders of the people. The flavour of the
fruit itself differs so much, that no description
can be given of the taste of a mango—even the
fruit of one tree vary in their flavour. A tope
(orchard) of mango-trees is a little fortune to
the possessor, and when in bloom a luxurious
resort to the lovers of Nature.

The melon is cultivated in fields with great
ease and little labour, due care being always
taken to water the plants in their early growth.
The varieties are countless, but the kind most
esteemed, and known only in the Upper Pro-
vinces, are called chitlahs, from their being
spotted green on a surface of bright yellow ; the
skin is smooth and of the thickness of that of
an apple; the fruit weighing from half-a-pound
to three pounds. The flavour may be com-
pared to our finest peaches, partaking of the